Illinois: New Jesse Jackson Jr. Poll Shows Huge Primary Lead

CHICAGO — With one week to go before the Democratic primary, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. released a poll that showed him with a massive 36-point lead over former Rep. Debbie Halvorson.

Jackson led Halvorson 59 percent to 23 percent, according to the internal poll given to Roll Call by one of the Illinois Congressman’s top campaign aides.

The two Democrats are squaring off in the March 20 primary in the redrawn 2nd district, which spans from southern Chicago to rural Kankakee County. The district is heavily Democratic, and the winner of the primary will serve in the next Congress in all likelihood.

Initially, Democrats viewed Jackson as potentially vulnerable because of his ethics woes and the new territory in this district. Halvorson represented much of the territory in the new 2nd district during her tenure in the state Senate and single term in Congress.

But Jackson’s polling shows the race has become less competitive over the past few months. In mid-January, surveys from both campaigns had Jackson’s lead under 15 points, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

The survey for Jackson’s campaign took the opinion of 406 likely voters from March 8 to 11. The poll had a margin of error of 4.9 points.

Here’s the full Lake Research Partners polling memo from the Jackson campaign: